Hillsborough County, Florida in the context of Tampa Bay Area

The Tampa Bay area is a major metropolitan area surrounding Tampa Bay on the Gulf Coast of Florida in the United States. It includes the main cities of Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Clearwater. It is the 17th-largest metropolitan area in the United States, with a population of 3,175,275 as of the 2020 U.S. census.

The exact boundaries of the metro area can differ in different contexts. Hillsborough County and Pinellas County (including the cities of Tampa, St. Petersburg, Clearwater, and various smaller communities) make up the most limited definition. This area includes most of the Tampa Bay bayfront, aside from the far southern portion which lies in Manatee County. The U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) defines the Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) as including Hillsborough and Pinellas Counties as well as Hernando and Pasco Counties to the north; and it is the 18th-most populous MSA in the country. The MSA was first defined in 1950 as the Tampa-St. Petersburg, Florida Standard Metropolitan Area, and included Hillsborough and Pinellas counties. Pasco County was added to the MSA in 1973. In 1983, Hernando County was added to the MSA and Clearwater was added to the MSA name. The OMB has designated Tampa, St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Largo, and Pinellas Park as the principal cities of the MSA. Unlike most large metropolitan areas, Tampa does not belong to any combined statistical area and is the largest MSA in the United States not to belong to one.

Port Tampa Bay, known as the Port of Tampa until January 2014, is the largest port in the state of Florida and is overseen by the Tampa Port Authority, a Hillsborough County agency. The port is located in Tampa, Florida near downtown Tampa's Channel District. The port directly accesses Tampa Bay on the western coast of the Florida Suncoast, and is approximately 25 sea miles from the Gulf of Mexico. The port district includes parts of Tampa Bay, Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay and the Hillsborough River. The port serves container ships, tank ships, and cruise lines.

As of 2023, Port Tampa Bay ranks 24th in the United States by total trade in cargo tonnage. It is the largest, most diversified port in Florida, has an economic impact of more than $15.1 billion, and supports over 80,000 jobs. Cargo shipping includes bulk and tanker ships, as well as roll-on/roll-off ships and container cargo ships. The port additionally operates ship repair facilities. Currently connected to major Asian container ports, with global connections, the port is focused on growing its container trade. Millions of dollars in infrastructure improvements are underway or in the planning phase.

Pamela Jo Bondi (/ˈbɒndi/ BON-dee; born November 17, 1965) is an American attorney and politician who has served as the 87th United States attorney general since 2025. A member of the Republican Party, she served as the 37th attorney general of Florida from 2011 to 2019.

Born and raised in the Tampa Bay area, Bondi graduated from the University of Florida and Stetson Law School. She served as an assistant state attorney in Hillsborough County, Florida from 1994 to 2009. In 2010, Bondi was elected attorney general of Florida, becoming the first woman to serve in the position. She was re-elected in 2014, becoming the first Republican to win a second term. She was term-limited in 2018, and was succeeded by fellow Republican Ashley Moody.

Pinellas is the name of a peninsula located roughly halfway down the west coast of Florida. It forms the western boundary of Tampa Bay and comprises the bulk of Pinellas County. There is a city named Pinellas Park in south Pinellas. The peninsula is bounded on the north by Pasco County, Florida, on the northeast by Hillsborough County, and on the east and south by Tampa Bay. It is bounded on the west by the Intracoastal Waterway and the Gulf of Mexico. The Pinellas peninsula connects to the south with Manatee County via the Sunshine Skyway Bridge and connects with Hillsborough County on the east via the Courtney Campbell Causeway, the Howard Frankland Bridge, and the Gandy Bridge.